Dresdner Kreuzchor: medieval tradition

The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the mixed boys' choir of Dresden's Kreuzkirche church, where it still sings Saturday vespers every week. The choir is heard by around 150,000 people every year and the boys attend the church grammar school.

The Kreuzchor originated back in the 13th century as Dresden's counterpart to Leipzig's St. Thomas Choir. It developed from a Latin school, attendance at which was a prerequisite for participation in church services in Latin. Today the choir's repertoire ranges from Schütz and Bach via Haydn and Mendelssohn to Theodorakis and other contemporary composers, and its membership is around 150 boys and young men. The choir often works with the Dresden Philharmonic and the Sächsische Staatskapelle, and it provides soloists for the opera and undertakes concert tours to the Americas and Asia. The school's alumni include the famous singers Peter Schreier and Olaf Bär.